Archive By Section - State

• Man arrested for puppy dragging death: LAKE ELSINORE (AP) - A Southern California man who allegedly dragged his puppy behind a pickup truck and then ran it over has been arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty.

EAST PORTERVILLE (AP) - Hundreds of domestic wells in California's drought-parched Central Valley farming region have run dry, leaving many residents to rely on donated bottles of drinking water to get by.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari made the most of a low-profile Sunday morning speaking slot at the party's state convention, delivering a spirited defense of a party he said cares most about poor people and minorities but has failed to convey its message.

CITY CITES DROUGHT, SINKS LA WATER SLIDE PROPOSAL: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles city officials have pulled the plug on plans to temporarily transform a downtown street into a giant water slide because of drought.

PLACERVILLE (AP) - A massive Northern California wildfire is burning so explosively because of the prolonged drought that firefighters are finding normal amounts of retardant aren't stopping the flames. And so they are dropping record-breaking amounts - more than 203,000 gallons in one day alone.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The University of California Board of Regents is boosting the six-figure salaries of chancellors in the system by as much as 20 percent, part of an effort regents say is aimed at bringing the salaries in line with their counterparts.

SANTA ANA (AP) - Federal officials have approved new wording on a proposed California driver's license for immigrants who are living in the country illegally, ending months of debate over what the card should say.

MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING FELLOW GYM-GOER: SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) - A man has been arrested after police say he repeatedly struck another man with a steel weightlifting bar at a San Francisco Bay Area gym, killing him.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A rapidly expanding digital network that uses cameras mounted to traffic signals and police cruisers captures the movements of millions of vehicles across the U.S., regardless of whether the drivers are being investigated by law enforcement.

LONG BEACH (AP) - A JetBlue airliner that experienced engine problems soon after takeoff returned to the Long Beach Airport on Thursday after smoke filled the cabin and passengers evacuated onto the runway using the plane's emergency slides.